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12 May 2009

An Unlikely Pair

Showers threatened this morning. Not wanting to carry an umbrella, the Barbour found it's way out of the closet. However, not wanting to give up on Springtime, it met with rolled khakis...truly an unlikely pair:

I generally tend to think of my Barbour as a cold weather item, even though it's really not that heavy. Maybe it's because, in the absence of a hunting parka, I tend to wear it all winter paired with a down vest and sweater. The rolled chinos, especially in the pale color known as 'stone', and the sockless feet in loafers are pure Spring/Summer. But still...matched up with a repp tie, university striped oxford and surcingle belt with ducks on it, I'm pretty sure it worked.I guess this all brings up a good point about instinct.

Sartorial instinct is tough for men. Whether it's suits or shorts and t-shirts, men are generally coaxed into one uniform or another. There are rules, this goes with that, it's easy. But not much fun. Developing an instinct and learning to trust it is far more enjoyable.

This morning as I pondered what to wear, I immediately thought of the Barbour jacket, but having 'retired' it for the season, I tried repeatedly to talk myself out of it. When it came time to finally leave the house, of course I reached right for it, because I knew the moment I thought of it I would. I'd sooner have changed the rest of my clothes in favor of the jacket than vice versa.

Turns out it never did rain. We had a bright sunny day, 65 degrees. Fortunately, Barbour jackets also form a good unlikely pair with Ray-Ban Wayfarers.

p.s. Some of you have mentioned that you find a few of my recent posts to be a pinch self-indulgent, that I've veered of course down the slippery slope of vanity. True, this blog is supposed to be about cheap thrifty clothes. But I can't go out and accumulate 2 dollar shirts and 10 dollar suits every day. Sometimes, I have to just wear the stuff.

Besides, what's a blog anyway if not at least a little bit vain? I'm sure Jesus will grant me a pass on this one.

17 comments:

Anonymous
said...

1. Style is about adopting a "both x and y" rather than an "either x or y" approach. You've got style.

2. For those of us who live in places where have no access whatsoever to thrift shops :-( the clothes (and combos) you show us are more important than the thrifting itself. Therefore: No objection whatsoever to photos of you wearing the stuff.

G, I gotta agree with you re: blogs. It's the same with most kinds of writing. You only write because you assume someone wants to read it. This necessitates at least a little vanity to begin with. Post whatever you want. You have plenty of people who will read whatever you post (this guy included).

Blogs are, like you admit, vanity. Writing and reading. Posting pictures and looking at them. Narcissism, to be more precise. I'd say more than just a little bit. I don't know anything about free passes from Jesus. Like anything else, it all depends on how controlling it becomes. I've had to put some limits recently on how much time I allow myself to spend peering at my reflection in the pool, which includes posting on forums, reading blogs, and thrift shopping. A simple hobby can easily slide into an obsession. It's always astonishing to me how quickly my life can get all whacked out of balance, and the bottom line is that I like myself a lot. Okay, off to do something somewhat less narcissistic. :-)

just bought a grey wool Bert Pulitzer blazer, with crest on the buttons, for 7$ at the salvation army....it is better quality than what I could have bought in say CPenney....I have another tweed blazer I bought from the salvation army...that is however the only item I would buy there...I know where to get cheap oxford shirts and dress pants brand new